IMO, using gear oil in axle boots is asking for trouble. If it was better than grease, Mercedes and every other car manufacturer would use oil instead of grease. A century of engineering says use grease, not oil.

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1981 300SD 512k OM603

Who said the OE lubricant was grease? The OE lubricant is gear oil. Or at least thats what was in my OE axle.

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the sooner you start... the sooner you'll get done If it ain't broke, don't fix it.. Its always simpler to tell the truth...
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Oil is OE, not Grease.

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1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

I tend to believe that M/B had some good reasons for using oil. The oil, if the boots are filled completely, will always be on the bearing surfaces. The grease will be flung to the outside of the boot, leaving the bearing surfaces without the desired lubrication, unless the boot is completely packed.

The longevity of these axles with the use of oil should give one pause before grease is selected for a replacement lube.

Exactly. I will be filling all of ours with oil when I redo them soon for this very reason.

We have a big pile of flexx boots coming in, hopefully they hold up ok, I'll have to be real careful.

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